


Administrative Access

by colazitron



Series: 2019 December Holiday Fic Countdown [2]
Category: SKAM (Norway)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21649108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colazitron/pseuds/colazitron
Summary: Even is pretty sure his med-bot, Isak, is developing genuine artificial intelligence.
Relationships: Even Bech Næsheim & Isak Valtersen
Series: 2019 December Holiday Fic Countdown [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1559638
Comments: 25
Kudos: 84





	Administrative Access

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MinilocIsland](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinilocIsland/gifts).



> **A/N:** This one is for Raz, who wanted bot fic. This is probably not entirely what you had in mind. Sorry about that. Hope you still like it!

“You do not have the administrative access required to change these settings. Please consult with an administrator,” Isak says, voice robotic and void of any sign of life.

Even hates that voice. He didn't even put Isak under, so he doesn't have to sound like this, but Isak doesn't like when Even tries to change the admin-only settings.

“I know,” Even grumbles and tries again anyway because he's frustrated and stubborn and he just-- ugh.

“You do not have the administrative access required to change these settings. Please consult with an administrator,” Isak repeats.

Even vindictively taps the icon on his tablet again.

Isak sighs.

“The third time is not 'the charm' in this case, Even. Programming does not change.”

“I know,” Even says again, more resigned this time, because that's just it. He wants Isak to-- change. Not like he wants to fiddle with his personality parameters to adjust him to Even's liking, he wants Isak to _change_. He's pretty sure he has, that he is changing, but there are settings that could be changed to allow for even more change. To give Isak's thoughts more freedom.

He sighs and closes the menu he'd pulled up on his tablet again, setting it aside. Isak's jaw clenches almost imperceptibly when he does, and it's things like these that make Even so sure that Isak is changing. Growing.

He doesn't like when someone accesses his control panels. And it's not the way he doesn't like when Even is being stubborn or does something Isak is supposed to stop him from doing – he genuinely doesn't like it. Even's not even sure if Isak is entirely aware of it.

If Even every broached the subject of Isak possibly showing signs of developing real, independent intelligence, he'd tell Even he was being fooled by the very intricate programming that makes up the matrix of Isak's behaviour. That's something that Even is sure of. But he's also pretty sure that that's not true.

Even may not be an AI specialist, and some people may claim he's not even reliably good at separating what's real from what isn't, but Even doesn't think he's making a mistake here. Maybe it's precisely because he's made this particular mistake before that he's so sure he's not making it now.

This feels different. And, sure, that's exactly what he thought last time as well, but the difference is in the evidence. Last time, he mistook Mikael's programming for kindness, for a genuine wish to be around Even and make him feel good. This time, he's careful not to let any of Isak's behaviour towards Even affect his thinking. Taking care of Even is Isak's prime directive, after all. It's very literally what he exists to do.

At first, he had hated Isak for it, or rather hated his parents for getting him. He'd been convinced that after the debacle with Mikael – stealing him away from the Boukhals to have him tested for independent thought only to be resoundingly disappointed by the result – they'd keep Even as far away from any and all robotic help. But the truth of the matter is that Even is an adult, and so are his parents. They can't look after him day and night no matter how much they might want to, and if they tried, Even would probably just pack up and leave Oslo, at least, if not the country, just to escape their at-times smothering care.

So Isak is a compromise. Even hat hated the idea of having a robot nanny, but in the end he'd relented on the condition that his parents not be the ones to choose the bot's character settings. He really couldn't stomach the idea of his parents basically picking out a live-in nurse for him and making them exactly who _they_ thought Even needed to have around.

They'd bought Isak second hand. He had belonged to a woman with a different but also 'difficult-to-handle' mental illness before her ex-husband had admitted her to a facility and put Isak up for sale. It's why Even's parents had bought him and opted against wiping his memory. They thought the real-life experience data he'd collected with who Isak only ever calls 'mother' might be more helpful than any med-bot programming, no matter how sophisticated.

Even's pretty sure that inadvertently that's why Isak is beginning to out-grow his programming. From all his reading on artificial intelligence and why it develops in some cases but not others, he's gleaned that one of the most consistent factors is the amount of experiences a bot makes. The more diverse the data input a bot receives, the greater the probability – maybe even necessity – for them to build a network around that data never strictly intended by their programming.

And so, since Even's parents have denied him administrator access to Isak's controls and he can't loosen his programming that way, Even has decided to simply give Isak as many different experiences as he can.

He taught him to paint and recite poetry and play instruments. In the summer he took him hiking and sailing and horse-back riding. Camping, and cooking, and barbecuing. He insisted Isak accompany him to a three-day music festival because what if something happens? It's an overwhelming environment after all.

Once it got colder he'd decreed Isak might as well help him study or at least accompany him to the library whenever he went. Bit by bit Isak had begun to pick up books to read instead of just watching Even study or going into power-save mode instead. At first he'd read what Even was reading, so he could answer any potential questions Even might have, but as he was both a far faster reader than Even, and Even didn't like Isak basically handing him answers, Isak had moved on to other books to read; anything from astronomy to comic books, from obscure biographies to even more obscure horror fiction.

And now, with December upon them, Even is determined to get Isak into the Christmas spirit. Isak protests the attempt of course, insistent that he simply has no spirit, Christmas or otherwise, but Even knows that eventually, he'll prove Isak wrong. There is a person growing inside of Isak, and Even wants to get to know them.

It's entirely possible, of course, that even if Even is right, the person growing inside Isak won't want to know _him,_ but that's a risk he's willing to take.

So long as he doesn't tell Isak that's what he's doing, Isak is going to go along with almost anything Even suggests they do, since he can, at the very least, tell that Even's mood and stability have greatly improved over the last six months. Turns out focusing on something other than his own interior life and the way it felt like his entire life had crumbled right through his hands actually does him some good. Who knew?

“Now that you have finished with this fruitless attempt, what is it you wish to spend time on today?” Isak asks.

Even pulls himself out of his musings and grins at Isak. It's Sunday, and Even doesn't have any exams or essays or presentations coming up in the following week, so he's decided to take today off, basically. It's also been snowing for the last few days, and the world outside is blanketed in a soft, thick layer of snow. Even has always loved the first snow of the year. There's something so wonderfully nostalgic and magical about it.

“Today, we are going to build a snowman,” he says. And have a snowball fight, but Isak doesn't need to know about that, because snowball fights are always better when they're spontaneous.

“You have not slept well this week,” Isak points out. “Are you sure that you want to be spending time outside?”

Even sighs heavily and rolls his eyes at Isak. “I can stand to build one snowman. I'm not some delicate, wilting flower.”

Isak doesn't look entirely convinced, but when Even gets up from the couch and pulls him over towards the door, he doesn't protest. They both bundle up in thick winter clothes – Isak technically doesn't need them, but Even prefers that people don't immediately recognise him as the bot he is – and then make their way outside.

“Right. Have you ever done this before?” Even asks once they're in the back yard, ankle deep in snow.

“I have not, but I believe I understand the concept,” Isak says, and though he'd probably deny it, his voice is practically dripping with dry sarcasm.

Even grins to himself and claps his mittened hands. The noise they make almost gets lost in the general bustle of being outside, but Even isn't deterred and does it again, just for the fun of it.

“Well! Let's go then,” he instructs and bends down to scoop up some snow to start forming a ball to roll around. Isak copies him after only a moment's hesitation.

Even insists they make the snowman as big as they can, so it takes them a while to get three balls together that meet with Even's size-approval, and then stack them on top of each other so the snowman is almost as tall as they are. They fashion arms for him too and then go look for pebbles to use to give him some eyes and a mouth. Even sends Isak back upstairs to grab a carrot for a nose, and when he comes back, he greets him with a snowball to the face.

Isak doesn't really react to it beyond wiping the snow off his face and then setting the carrot in the centre of their snow man's face, which is beyond annoying.

So Even hits him with another snowball, this one to the back of his head.

“Come on! I know you know what to do!” he calls out to Isak.

Isak seems to think it over for a moment, but then he swoops down to scoop up some more snow, and not a minute later Even ducks out of the way of the snowball that comes flying his way. He laughs gleefully and returns fire, and then forgets about keeping track of who's gotten who how many times, or how long they spend in the backyard scooping up snow and throwing it at each other amidst laughter and shouting that probably isn't strictly speaking expected of a 20 year old uni student or a med bot.

All Even knows is that by the time he calls time out, he's sweaty underneath his clothes, his cheeks feel as flushed as on any summer day, and he's breathless with laughter and exercise.

Isak, of course, looks exactly as he always does.

Perhaps, Even thinks, his smile is a little easier, but Even isn't sure if he should put too much stock into this kind of observation. It's too close to Isak doing things for Even's sake, too close to what Even can't trust.

Regardless, it's another new experience under Isak's belt.

“Come on,” Even says. “We'll go back inside and warm up.”

Isak frowns immediately, taking the glove off his hand to put it to Even's forehead.

“You are too cold,” he decrees. “You might be catching a fever. You should warm up and rest for the remaining day.”

And just like that, the magic of the moment fades away, melting like the snow flakes caught on Even's scarf.

He sighs.

“Okay,” he relents, and lets Isak herd him back up the stairs and then into a fresh set of clothes and under a blanket on the sofa. Isak makes him a mug of hot chocolate and instructs him to rest, but unlike any other time, he doesn't excuse himself from the room to give Even the space he thinks he needs to do so, and sits on the sofa with him instead.

“Would you like to watch a movie?” he asks.

Even takes a sip from his hot chocolate and nods. “You pick one,” he ventures, curious as to what Isak is going to do with that choice. Maybe it's just that Isak has figured out that Even rests better – does almost anything better – when he's not alone. Still, he wants to see what Isak's next move is.

Isak doesn't comment, or refuse, just lowers the lights and brings up Even's movie selection on the large wall screen, flicking through Even's meticulously curated folders of films. Even isn't sure if Isak is looking for something specific, or how he makes his choice, but he lands on a collection of Pixar shorts.

He just hums his agreement when Isak pauses on it.

“Great idea,” he says, and when Isak sets it to play, he shuffles around so he can scoot closer to Isak and leech of some of his heat.

He might still turn out to be wrong about Isak, but for the time being, he's going to keep trying, because if he's right, then he can't wait to get to know Isak.

  
  


**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still taking prompts on my tumblr @fille-lioncelle if you'd like to leave some


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